ROBIN CAFÉ 知一咖啡馆

Article By Mike Leaner

Qujiang Chuangyigu, No.3369, Yanxiang Lu
雁翔路3369号曲江万科创意谷南门、西南门往里100米
(029) 8121 2282
10:00am – 10:00pm

Average Price per Person /人均消费: 45RMB

PROS: Great ambiance, coffee and food
CONS: Food portions can be a bit stingy

Ihave a few things that I generally require from a café: good coffee, comfortable seating and nice ambiance. Robin Café, a new coffee shop in the Vanke Shopping Center in Qujiang, has all three and is a great place to stop for a cup of joe.

You’ll find Robin Café right in the thick of things at Vanke, on the ground level. It’s smartly decorated, full of wooden furniture and bright white walls and tables. Whereas a lot of new cafés with this style end up feeling sterile, there’s a comfortable, homey charm to it. It’s definitely a place where you could spend a good chunk of time.

Olivia, the owner, says she worked for years at Sculpting in Time, so you can expect a similar milieu, but it seems she’s learned from the flaws of the SIT model to craft a better overall experience. Food and beverage are both head and shoulders above what SIT is able to offer these days. During my visit, I was first served a cappuccino that was creamy, delicious and expertly presented. That was followed by an amazingly refreshing fruit tea, a pu er base flavored with apples, oranges and passion fruit. I was also able to try a couple of their small meals that they offer. The pork panini was tasty and fresh, seasoned just right and is among the better sandwiches I’ve eaten in town. The fish and chips were also a highlight, consisting of a delicately battered filet of sole and a small helping of crispy, crinkle-cut French fries. Neither portion was very large but, all things considered, café food should be light, and in that context it succeeded. Although, I would say I wish they were a bit more generous with side dishes, because being served fewer than ten fries counts as a serving of fries only by the technicality that six fries is more than one fry, and I was being served them. At between 30-40RMB a dish, I don’t think it’s too much to ask.

Overall, Robin Café is a nice place that is definitely worth a visit. Whether you want to hunker down and do some work, take a break from shopping or just visit with a friend or two in their quiet, cozy restaurant, it should be near the top of your list if you’re in the area.

Mike Leaner likes to get dirty but not for free. He can be reached at reviews@xianease.com

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